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(More customer reviews)David,
Ran across you review of Desperate Voyage on Amazon.com and saw your question about whatever happened to John Caldwell.
Sadly, he passed away in 1998. I can tell you in 1997 he was still going very strong, because I bought my copy of the book directly from him -- he even graciously signed it -- when I visited his island home in the Carribbean. The book lays out his love of life and adventure and his ability to achieve seemingly impossible tasks, and what you read is exactly how he came across in person too. Apparently Mary was worth it. They married and sailed throughout the Carribbean for years before settling on the very unpromising Prune Island in the Grenadines. Caldwell signed a 198 year lease with the St. Vincent government for the island and then they spent decades transforming the bug-infested island into a beautiful, rustic and exclusive "get away from it all and enjoy the simple life" resort. The island, near Bequi and St. Vincent, is now called Palm Island in honor of the palm trees planted all over the island (palms aren't native to the Carribbean, but Caldwell acted like Johnny Appleseed and planted palms throughout the neighboring islands).
Now the review: Caldwell's story lacks any literary pretensions. Instead it's a straightforward first person account of a tremendous (mis)adventure -- the kind no sane person would (or could) make today! You can't help but root for him and wonder how things will turn out. For me the story has even greater appeal because I had a chance to briefly meet Caldwell and knew his story wasn't a brief abberration forced on him by wartime -- but instead was just one chapter in the long life of a very nice man who clearly marched to the beat of a different drummer.
- Jim
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In May 1946, John Caldwell, stranded in Panama afetr the war, set out single-handed on a 9,000 mile journey aboard the 29-foot Pagan to rejoin his wife in Sydney.
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